The Mid-Length Skirt Is the New Hemline

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Michael Kors

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Oscar de la Renta

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Proenza Schouler

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Vera Wang

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Marc Jacobs

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Marchesa

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Reed Krakoff

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The Row

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Carolina Herrera

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Jason Wu

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There was a moment around breakfast time on September 9 in Michael Kors’s office—it was when I knew I was looking at everything I needed to take away from Fashion Week: the midi skirt, the midi dress (or anything which wafts somewhere below the knee and above the ankle) is the way forward for spring. There I was, holding the definitive, game-changing object of delight my hands: a forties-style navy blue dress, beaded with tiny white bunches of grapes. I looked up its skirt, which was comprised of yards of silk crepe invisibly pieced into more than a circle causing it to swish extravagantly. Kors heard me sigh. “I don’t know how to say this, but you girls will know what I mean,” he exclaimed. “You put it on, and it’s that slap on the thigh as you walk.”

He said it. Wearing that graceful new length is certain to be the sensation of next summer. The proportions and details were being pioneered all over the runways (not to mention the sidewalks) this week. This length looks good with flat sandals, feels pleasurable and feminine with a minimal, elegant, spindly heel, and it works just as well with sneakers. I’m prepared to guarantee we’ll be seeing much more of it in Europe, but let’s not forget: New York City led the way.